Amity
by bipolarweeb
Summary: A conversation that took place the night Natsu stayed with Lucy after he returned from his year-long training mission.


**So I finally finished Fairy Tail Zero. I was a little miffed we didn't get to see more of Natsu and Lucy when he came back, so I wrote my own version of the "more" I wanted lol. Enjoy!**

Lucy leans on the doorframe of the threshold between her bedroom and her living room. She smiles softly at the picture before her; a rose-haired man snoring loudly on a couch much too small for him, laying on his side curled up in a ball in a way that couldn't be comfortable. A blue cat is draped across his shoulders, tangled up in his scaly scarf, acting somewhat like a blanket to the feline.

Lucy wipes a silent tear away from her face. The fondness she feels in her heart is nearly overwhelming as she takes in the sight. She can't even form words to describe how much she missed the two of them this past year.

When Natsu left, the feeling of betrayal was indescribable. She lost her partner, her _nakama_ , and the one person she was supposed to able to count on no matter what.

Although he said in his letter he was going to be back, after everything that had happened with Tartaros and the dragons, she couldn't believe he just up and left with nothing more than a note.

On top of that, she was the one who had to tell the rest of the guild the dragonslayer was gone.  
Not long after, the guild disbanded.

If losing Natsu hurt, losing the guild was _devastating_. The loss she felt was almost tantamount to the pain she experienced when her mother died.

She lost her family for the second time and there was nothing she could do about it.

The sound of shuffling and a groggy voice bring her out of her thoughts. "Lucy?"

Lucy can see Natsu blinking sleepily as he tries to sit up, impeded by a sleeping ball of blue fur. He gently removes the snoozing cat from his shoulders before sitting up and placing him on the pillow he'd been using. Happy stirs for only a moment before curling back up in Natsu's scarf and placing his head on his paws.

"What's wrong?" Natsu stretches for a moment, and Lucy quickly averts her eyes from his flexing arms. Now is not the time to be ogling his muscles.

Lucy bites her lip as she looks away. "Nothing Natsu. I was just thinking."

She hears him get up from the couch, the wooden floor squeaking a little bit under his weight.

She looks back at him to see he's standing right in front of her, his head cocked to the side as his eyes roam her face. Lucy tries her best to hold his gaze, but he's always had a way of analyzing her that made her feel like she was under a microscope. She can't help but squirm a little bit.

As dense as he is, Natsu has always had a way of reading her emotions like a book; well, emotions that didn't involve him. When it came to romance, Natsu had a lot to learn. Anyone with eyes could see how Lucy felt about him; even Happy made comments now and then.

And if there had been doubt in anyone's minds before, Lucy's reaction when Natsu left was proof enough. She had been utterly heartbroken.

"Lucy can feel her heart fluttering nervously as his intense gaze searches her face. He's close; close enough for her to feel the usually comforting heat that consistently radiates from him. She wants to lean into him, but resists.

"No, something's wrong," he reaches up to grip her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and brings his face closer to hers. His eyebrows furrow as he continues to look at her. "You've been crying."

She tries desperately not to flush at their close proximity, but begins to feel her face warm and her eyes sting as she realizes he knows she's upset.

She tries to turn her head out of his grip, but he moves his hand from her chin to her face, wiping an escaping tear that runs down her cheek.

Natsu's eyes widen when her tears keep coming, and tugs her into a hug without hesitation.

Being in Natsu's arms only makes it worse. His comfort, something she hasn't had in nearly a year, only makes her realize how long it has been. He's so warm, and his smoky scent makes her overwhelmingly nostalgic. She doesn't want to let him go as she fists her hands in the back of his shirt.

He draws back a little bit, both hands gripping her upper arms. She opens her mouth to protest, but he takes her hand, leading her back in to her room. He shuts the door softly so not to wake the sleeping cat in the next room.

They both go to sit on the edge of her bed. Natsu takes her hand again, placing it in his lap. His dark green eyes plead with her before he speaks again.

 _Please_ tell me what's wrong, Lucy. Something about you has been off since I got here. Why are you crying?" he asks softly as he runs a thumb over her knuckles. "I hate seeing you cry."

Lucy sighs deeply, wiping some of the tears from her face with the hand not in Natsu's grasp.

It's hard for her to look at him. It's hard for her to look up into his too-innocent eyes and be upset with him. It's too hard to hold onto her anger when she knows he doesn't realize he is the one who caused her to get so upset.

How can she be angry when he just doesn't know the effect he has on her?

"Why did you leave, Natsu?" The question comes suddenly and without her permission, but she can't take it back.

"What?" he asks with a small frown. It's clear he's confused by the question, hadn't been expecting it.

She's about to say 'nothing,' to ask him to forget it, but the sudden pull of resentment in her belly won't let her.

"I _mean,"_ she bites out, "Why did you leave Magnolia? Why did you leave Fairy Tail? Why did you leave your entire family behind without so much as giving them a way to contact you? Why did you leave _me_?"

Tears that had momentarily stopped begin to fill her eyes against her will, but like hell she'll let them fall while she's trying to get answers from him.

"Do you have any idea what that did to me? You left me with just a note. No real explanation, no way of knowing where you were or if you were alright. You just _left_.

" _Why_?" she emphasizes, and he leans back a little bit when she looks up at him. Tears aren't the only thing in her eyes now. They're filled with hurt and anger too. He's never seen her like this and doesn't know how to tread carefully.

He takes his hand out of hers to fiddle with his hair.

"I-I-I…" Natsu stammers out, but closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in order to compose himself before trying to answer her questions. But he doesn't know where to start. "Wh-Where is this coming from, Lucy? I don't understand." He truly doesn't.

"'Where is this coming from'?" Lucy repeats, and Natsu's eyes widen as he realizes he just made a huge mistake. He watches her take in a deep breath.

"I've lost _everything_ , Natsu," she whispers to him in a deadly voice. As scary as she looks though, Natsu can still see the tears shining in her eyes. "I lost you, Aquarius, and the entire guild, my family, all in a matter of weeks. I had my life completely ripped out from under me, and then suddenly, after a whole year, you're back. No warning, no notice. You literally just blew up the stadium, beat up a few wizards to the point of incapacitation, and then expected to be welcomed back again like nothing happened. After all that time, you're just _here_ again and _I don't know what to do._ "

With her final words, her head falls into her hands. She hadn't realized how true the last sentence was. She has no idea what to do with the maelstrom of feelings whirling inside her, and doesn't know what to do about the clueless, pink-haired dragonslayer currently sitting on her bed, staring at her with wide eyes.

All the reeling thoughts in her head have gotten to be too much; she can't keep trying to stay composed. The pressure built up inside of her bursts as she finally lets her tears fall.

Without hesitation Natsu scoots closer to her on the bed. He places an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to him in a way that would allow him to wrap his other arm around her waist. He hugs her tightly, and after tensing for only a second, Lucy finds herself clutching at his shirt.

She lets herself cry over all of her losses for the first time since the guild disbanded.

After a while, Lucy's sobs quiet down to hiccups. As he soothingly rubs her back, Natsu feels like she's calmed down enough for him to speak.

"I-I didn't know about Aquarius."

"No," Lucy says softly, face still buried in his shoulder. "And you couldn't have. No one knows, I never told anyone. It was my burden to bear, no one else's. They didn't need to know."

Natsu pushes her away from him abruptly and she draws in a sharp breath at the loss of his warmth. She can see fire in his eyes as he speaks.

"How can you say that Lucy?" Natsu asks fiercely, "The guild is family, family is supposed to help you through hard times! You should've known you could trust them when you needed the support!"

"Of all people, you can't say that to me, Natsu!" Lucy bursts, standing up from the bed and throwing her hands up in the air. "You can keep saying you left Magnolia to go train, or get stronger, or whatever crap you said in your letter, but we both know you left because Igneel—"

Natsu stands up just as quickly, both hands finding her shoulders and gripping tightly, cutting her off.

"Don't, Lucy."

She pushes his hands off of her before jabbing a finger into his chest. She stands up on her toes in order to better look him in the eyes. "You were running, Natsu," she snaps at him. "You were running away because you didn't think you could lean on your guild mates when you needed them. You—"

"I didn't want to burden you all even more with problems that didn't concern you!" he all but shouts back, leaning in closer to her face.

She's startled when she sees a stray tear fall down his cheek, but he turns so she can't see his face. He takes a few steps away from her, and she immediately feels guilty for bringing up his father.

"What happened to Igneel…" he begins, softly this time, almost like all the fight has drained from him. "After he died, I needed space and time to think. I'd been searching forever for him, and then all of the sudden he's in front of me, fighting, after fourteen years."

Natsu lets out a large sigh, running a hand through his bangs before sitting back down on Lucy's bed. Lucy cautiously sits down next to him, having calmed down a bit, hoping to every deity out there that he isn't angry at her for yelling at him. She gently takes his hand and breathes out a quiet sigh of relief when he doesn't pull away.

"And then, just as quickly as he appeared, he's gone again. But this time it's different." He shakes his head as if trying to clear his thoughts, and Lucy tightens her grip on his hand. "This time he really is gone. There's no more wondering what happened or searching for any clues to where he might be. He's dead. I dedicated so much of my life looking for him, and all that time was wasted. It was completely pointless."

He looks up at her, and this time he lets her see the anguish filling his eyes. Her heart breaks for him as she lays her head on his shoulder. She feels him place his cheek on top of her hair.

"I felt like I lost everything in that moment, Lucy. I didn't know what to do, so I took the coward's way out and left."

After a few moments of silence, Lucy finally finds her voice to speak.

"I would've gone with you, you know," she says softly.

She feels him puff out a small exhale of soft laughter against her hair and can hear the small smile in his voice when he speaks. "I know you would have, but this was something I needed to work through on my own without someone constantly on my back about it."

Lucy nods against his shoulder. "I understand," she tells him, "And I forgive you… but I'm still mad at you," she adds.

For a minute he pauses, seeming like he was just going to let the moment pass in companionable silence. But then a grin begins to take over Natsu's face.

"But Luuuucyyyy," he whines, and suddenly he's tipping them back; he lands on one of the pillows, and her head bonks against his chin as he brings her closer to him.

She places a hand on his chest in order to steady herself. She readjusts to where they are both laying comfortably in her bed, her head on his chest and his arm around her shoulder. His warmth seeps into her bones as he presses against her side.

"What can I do to make you not mad at me anymore?" His tone is that of a petulant child, but the way he breathes it in her ear has her heart fluttering in her chest.

"I don't know, Natsu," she says as she rolls over so that more of her body is pressing into him. He's just so warm, and she's starting to feel sleepy. "Rain check? I'll let you know as soon as I think of something."

He chuckles softly before burying his nose in her hair, tightening his grip around her. She can't help but smile at the sound of his laughter, a sound she missed so much. She feels utterly content in his arms.

They are both silent for a few minutes, and Natsu is sure she's asleep, but the low sound of her voice breaks him out of his own groggy state. He deeply inhales her comforting scent as she speaks.

"You know," Lucy begins, and Natsu can feel her fingers tracing absent-minded circles across his stomach as she talks. "All those years you spent searching for Igneel weren't a waste of time. I never would have met you in Hargeon if you hadn't been looking for him. I never would've joined Fairy Tail, I never would've become your partner, and I never would have found my true family. It may be selfish, but I'm so glad you were looking for him that day, Natsu."

For a moment he is speechless, but then a broad grin takes over Natsu's features. He reaches to grasp the hand Lucy has on his stomach, the one with the guild mark she still bears, and holds on tightly.

"I am too, Lucy," he says quietly, and brings her hand up to his mouth to place a light kiss on her mark.

"I can't believe Fairy Tail is gone," she whispers, sleep heavy in her voice. She probably won't remember this conversation in the morning, Natsu thinks.

Natsu moves her hand from his lips, placing it back on his chest. He places a soft kiss to her hair as he speaks. "I know, Lucy. And we'll get it back. I promise."


End file.
